The power lines were installed in the 1960s with manual joints, but have been running hot as the number of amps passing through them has increased. They are now being fitted with new joints, fused together to seal them.
Power lines in Norway run over mountainsides and stretch across fens, making access extremely difficult, said contractor Nor Trøndelag Elverk (NTE). This has required the use of the crawler, a 220hp Morooka, which has allowed NTE to overcome the inhospitable terrain. “A crawler is the only possible way to go in this crazy terrain,” said site foreman Bjørn Øksnes.
“If it’s too steep to drive the crawler we simply switch to the winch and drag the machine up. We run out the crane boom as a counterbalance on upward and downward slopes.”
The knuckleboom crane has been fitted with a personnel basket for the work, lifted as high as 26m, which has meant there is no longer a need to climb the pylons during the job. “Not having to climb pylons spares our bodies from aches and pains,” said Øksnes.
The knuckleboom can also be equipped with an insulated platform and a 6m ladder that allows workmen to operate on live power lines. This allows work to take place on lines carrying up to 600,000v, said NTE, without having to turn the current off and disrupt power supplies.
